Gypsy
by RoadwayFox
Summary: For three years the doctors of the Storybrook Notre-Dame Mental Institution fed Esme with drugs and therapy to make her think that the Shadow she knows she's seen was nothing more than illusion.
1. Prologue

_As I was going up the stairs_

_I met a man who wasn't there_

_He wasn't there again today_

_I wish...I wish he'd go away..._

_Storybrook. _

_2012_

"Esme, do you realize now that what you think you've seen was nothing more than illusion?" The voice of Dr. Frollo was sliced with simulated softness.

"Yes." She answered, maintaining a pleasant smile.

"Good. Now, I know we've been over this more than once for the last three years but your mental health is my priority." The doctor was in his late thirties, was always wearing expensive three-piece suits and had a thick European accent; Esme couldn't pinpoint what was it but it cut her hearing senses.

"I know that. And I appreciate everything you've done for me." Young woman's hands slowly found a peaceful position on her lap: the man in front of her was spying her every move like a hawk, waiting for her to make a mistake. "I was quite a case..."

"Oh, dear, this is my job!" He laughed lightly but the shrill and distinctive malice of that sound was enough to drive a normal person insane. Esme curled her toes to prevent herself from fisting her palms which would have been a deadly giveaway. "I'm delighted to see that you're doing better. You have been for some time now, let me add. The question is: are you better enough to resume the normal life?"

His dark eyes were sharp, needling every part of Esme's body. She did not move for only a subtle smile that once again grace her features:

"Well, I trust you fully to decide this, Doctor. After all...you've been taking such good care of me."

Frollo's lips curled in a smile that easily would have passes for a devil smirk. But Esme could see how pleased he was with her praise, he was a man...man waiting to be appreciated like any other.

"I'm glad you think so." He backed in the office chair that seemed much more comfortable than the sofa Esme was currently occupying. "And I'm glad you understand now that there are no such things as black figures that can fly and take people with them. I do believe your time here, in Storybrook Notre-Dame Mental Institution, played out for your benefit. And that makes me very happy."

Esme, suppressing the gag that was forming in her throat shamelessly, simply nodded:

"That makes two of us."

The doctor smiled again with that sinister smile he sported on daily basis:

"Wonderful. I've already made all the necessary calls and the paperwork will be done by the time your mother will be here."

"My adoptive mother..." Esme corrected automatically, regretting it instantly. As soon as the doctor reached for his glasses she added with the lulling voice, "Can't wait. We haven't talked for so long.."

Dr. Frollo stopped his hand in the air, thinking twice, while Esme held her breath.

"I imagine you are." And he backed in his office chair once again, missing how the young woman released the air from her lungs.

-\-

Prologue, guys! Chapters will be larger, this is just a taste of what's comming.

What do you think? Do you want me to go on with this? I'm being pretty straight-forward right now so any good guesses as to who Esme is?

Waiting for your feedback!


	2. Chapter 1

_A\N – Hey, everyone! Thank you all who checked the story out, hopefully it won't disappoint you. I've got some twists and turns planned and I want to go according with the show. So expect some new characters, intervening with the present ones and a least some explaining as to how Esme is connected to it all before Pan's actual entrance. Though I might think of throwing couple interactions here and there. Enjoy. And please tell me what you think, what you expect, flames,sure as well ! xx _

_**Storybrook**_

_**2012**_

"Why aren't you in bed?" Henry's thin voice rang through the darkness of the kitchen, reverting the girl near the window from her thoughts.

"You scared me, half-pint." She turned to him, her skin even more pale in the moonlight.

"Sorry. I came for a glass of milk..." But the small boy didn't make any steps to the fridge.

"I don't really sleep much." Esme answered knowing that he was still waiting for to.

Henry moved a little closer but not close enough to invade his friend's personal space.

"Is that because of the nightmares?"

"No." She retorted too quickly though her voice was still soft. "I don't have nightmares."

"You know, you don't have to lie to me." Henry searched her eyes. "I believe you, I believed you all along."

Esme cocked her head to the side, eyes exhausted, being the only thing that betrayed how she really felt. She shook her head slightly, her rich dark brown hair cascading on her shoulders and reaching below her shoulder blades like a silky waterfall.

"I really don't know what you're talking about, H."

The boy took a deep breath as if slightly disappointed. Not in her but the situation:

"If you say you saw a shadow then I know you did." He patted her skinny shoulder ever so slightly, letting her know he meant every single ward.

She didn't answer. Just smiled mostly to herself and proceeded to concentrate on something through the window.

"I'm glad you're going to be living with us now." Henry said and giving the young girl's shoulder the last squeeze turned to take off back to his room, stopping at the door for a moment. "He believed you too."

Esme averted her gaze from the night street and looked at Henry, question in her doe eyes.

"Sheriff Graham." He clarified.

"He was a good man." She only said. "You forgot your milk."

"I'm...not exactly thirsty anymore." Henry shifted slightly on his feet making Esme chuckle.

"Sure sure."

_**Storybrook**_

_**2009**_

"Let me make myself very clear clear, Dr. Hopper, I'm not really interested in your professional opinion. The girl must be put under supervision." The mare's voice thundered through the flawlessness of her office.

Archie Hopper for a second closed his eyes in defeat.

"Regi...Miss Mare, why would you want the young girl to spend any amount of time in the institution. She's only fourteen...both, me and her mother..."

"She's her adoptive mother," Regina corrected, not intending to hear the therapist. "She's been like this for two years now. She's delusional. She just can't let go of some kind of stupid nightmare!"

"Well, this is what it is! A nightmare, a fantasy...what are you so hard on her?"

"Because she is in constant contact with Henry! And other children! What kind of example does she exhibits? I want to help her as much as you do. But your methods are clearly not working." The Evil Queen crossed her legs under the table and taking a breath to calm herself continued. "We will try this new approach whether you want it or not. Prepare the papers for the hospital, Dr. Hopper."

The man in front of her used on of his hands to massage his temple anticipating the impending headache. He knew it wouldn't help though. Guilt was already starting to eat up his insides: one more battle lost to the heartless woman.

The ringing of Regina's phone interrupted his self-loathing and receiving an unwavering glance from the mare, Archie took his leave, giving her one last look.

"Yes, Dr. Frollo," putting the receiver to her ear Regina's lips quirked up. "Thank you for answering on such a short notice but I'm afraid we have a situation on our hands. The situation you would like to deal on your own."

_**Enchanted Forest**_

_**before the curse**_

Snow White was running. Again. Her legs hurt, her heart racing, skin flushed. But she knew she could not stop. Stopping meant Regina would win, stopping meant she would never see Charming again. She had to fight. But right at the moment apple cyder and hut in the forest sounded like heaven.

What she didn't expect was to be exposed...

The clearing...No time to make it back to the forest...Snow spotted some horses, hand-made shelters and camp-fires.

The Evil Queen's soldiers' horses did not rest. The young princess could hear them approaching. There wasn't actually a choice to make: to risk nearing the people on the clearing or turn back and be trapped in the soldiers' arms.

Quickly sprinting to the first shelter she could reach, the dark head dove into it, hoping no one was inside.

It seemed unoccupied though the voices outside told her that there were at least three men and one woman behind the reddish curtains.

"Are they here for me?" A small voice made Snow stop in her trucks.

She turned her head a child, a girl not older than thirteen or even less, sitting in the corner of the hand-built sanctuary. Her eyes reminded the refuge princess of a stormy grey skies, they were looking back at her with frightful acceptance. The girls long dark locks were covering a good half of her body as she was hugging her knees to her chest. Snow could pin point the coloured skirt (ornaments never seen by the princess before but heard of in the stories her mother had told her when she was still little) the child was wearing and a furred vast. She stumbled upon gypsies.

"No, sweetie. They are not here for you." Snow crawled a bit closer but didn't want to scare the girl. "They are here for me."

"Does King George want to kill you too?"

The question made Snow's mouth flow open, for a second she couldn't even blink. Why would the King want this little girl dead? What could _she _ever possibly do to him?

"No...not King. The Evil Queen is very angry with me." She answered finally.

That made the girl smile and her eyes sparkled a tiny bit:

"Then you must stay! Amara will take care of you and won't let them hurt you!"

The little girl got excited and grabbed the young woman's hands.

"Shhhh, sweetie!" Snow i tern squeezed her hands. "We don't want the guards to come..." 

"They won't find you here. Amara will make sure they won't!"

Snow was confused. But something about the way the beautiful little gypsy spoke and how contagious her excitement was made her...more at ease than she'd felt for days, days spent on the constant run.

"I'm Snow." She finally said, smiling to her new companion.

"I'm Esmeralda." The girl's bright eyes smiled in return.

Suddenly the entrance cover was lifted and the chill wind hit Snow's back:

"Come out, Princess, it is polite to introduce yourself first before barging into somebody's shelter."


	3. Chapter 2

_**Storybrook **_

_**2012**_

"So who is this Esme that lives with you and Regina now? You feel ok about it?" Emma looked cautiously at Henry who was sipping his cocoa in front of her in the booth at Granny's.

"Of course! She's great! You must meet her." His enthusiasm made the blonde chuckle.

"What I meant to say was that...she has a history, you know..." Emma played with words trying not to sound that harsh.

"She is not crazy!" Henry cut her off. "She was put in the hospital because she believed."

"Believed?" Emma urged for him to specify, one of her eyebrows furrowing.

"Yep. She believed that she saw a demon, a shadow. She refused to stop believing and they locked her in a hospital for that." Emma considered what Henry was saying and although she wasn't exactly happy with someone with any ties to a mental facility living under one roof with her son, she couldn't help but think that it was too extreme measure to lock a teenager in such an institution only because she believed too strongly in a fantasy. "Besides, she is from a fairytale world too."

That made the blonde's expression regain the one of an optimistic imprecation.

"Really?"

"Duh!" The boy's face brightened as he turned the fairy-tale book that never left his side to his birth mother and pointed at one of the pictures on the bottom of the page. "Esmeralda."

_**Enchanted Forest**_

_**before the curse**_

"The guards have left, so you can come out, Princess." The voice of the woman, strong and determined, repeated.

Snow took a glance at little Esmeralda who was nodding her head furiously, her greyish eyes dancing like two bright lightnings in darkest sky. The heiress got up and feeling the wind hitting her face shamelessly left the tent, leaving the gypsy child behind.

Snow White took a chance to get a look at her surrounding: there were two big shelters and the smaller one that she used to hide in, a waggon and two horses. She saw two men in shabby but colourful clothes, both with beards, not older then 30 years of age, they were talking the language Snow could not understand.

"I'm sorry, I had to hide from the Queen's soldiers...I'm..."

"I know who you are." The woman in front of her interrupted. She had the reddish hair Snow has ever seen, it fell down in perfect ringlets to her lower back where her corset was sealed. Her green eyes were looking at the princess as if they were reading her soul. "The daughter of the King who turned into a refugee."

She was in her middle age but talked as if she carried a knowledge of at least a hundred years: something in her voice made her sound so much wiser.

"Call me Snow." The brunette finally said, giving the tiniest smile.

"Well, Snow," The gypsy carried on. "I'm Amara. And I believe, you've already met Esmeralda."

Both women turned to see the small girl peaking through the fabric of the tent. As soon as she realized she's been caught, the child rushed to hide in the shelter again.

"I didn't want to disturb you, you have to believe me..." Snow tried again, this time calmer and softer as she saw no intention in Amara to harm her.

"Oh, I know you didn't. In fact, I was waiting for you to come for a long time now." The redhead said and proceeded to make her way to where the fire was being set up by the two men.

Snow's mouth formed an 'o'. Her legs unconsciously started carrying her to the flames, closer to where the gypsy woman took a sit.

"You must be hungry, Princess." She heard Amara call. "Sit. Eat with us."

Still shocked and in some state of strange pleasant trance, Snow obeyed.

"Esmeralda!" One of the man with a distinctive white scar that graced his neck called loudly. "Come out!"

The girl as if summoned by magic, appeared, draping a burgundy-coloured gown with fur underneath around her shoulders. She was smiling as she took small steps to near the place where the four adults were sitting.

"Dance for us, child." Amara smiled what made the girl's smile grow as well.

As Esmeralda started dancing some unknown dance, one that was foreign to Snow's kingdom, her pale skin started shining in the lights of flames, her grey eyes garish as if they were two diamonds and the energy that was coming from her was just...magical. It made Snow want to watch the dance forever or go and join her...

"She is a special little girl." Amara acknowledged knowingly.

Snow could only nod, enchanted.

_**Storybrook**_

_**2012**_

Esme's dark hair was dancing in the wind as the last rays of sunlight graced the town. The streets were empty save for an occasional passer-by here and there.

The young woman didn't have a purpose of her trip, she just enjoyed being able to go where she wanted to when she wanted to.

"I'm certainly glad to see they let you out of prison."

Esme stopped rooted to the pavement. Taking a deep breath she turned slowly first her eyes spying the cane, then the man behind it.

"Mr. Gold."

"Esme."

"Nice to see you're doing well."

"I'm always doing well, dearie." He answered with a small chuckle. "Oh my, you're all grown up now, aren't you."

"That's what time does to you." Esme answered but still didn't move.

Gold nodded though didn't offer any comment. "Well, I won't hold you any longer."

As he turned to leave, Esme called after him:

"Thank you."

The man turned back at the sound of her voice.

"I'm glad I could be of service."

"I owe you." She admitted.

"Yes, you do." The smile crossed his face, the smile Esme could hardly call a smile.

_-\-_

_I know, dearies, some of this stuff does not mean much right know but I have to start somewhere so just bare with me for now!_

_I'm still waiting for your reviews and suggestions! Kisses to all who's reading xx_


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